Thank you for this post and the info herein. I lost my first 5 lbs way ahead of the tracking graph and hit the "on track" line last week. I have been lulling around way below the line so early on that I am fearful I am now "set" here.

I measure and weigh foods daily. I even looked back at my reports and found that on the days I lost, the few days previously showed a close match in protein and carbs. Seems that when protein is too low compared to carbs, I stall or gain.

I'm still learning how to listen to my body. I also understand I need more exercise and I just hate it. I just hate it. But I will get back on track. I rationalize that I don't need it because I move around all day long. Part of me thinks that I burn more calories than most because I move all day. I had a weight loss doctor tell me I needed a mininum of 1600 calories just to keep from gaining weight.

Well, I tried that, and I gained. :(

Today I am down in the dumps, feeling defeated and behind schedule. I HATE seeing that progress line hit and cross going UPward! Arrrghhh......

I appreciate knowing that some plateaus last for a while. Mine has been a few weeks. It really helps not being alone in this journey.

I was in a plateau for 4 months at 170 lbs. and the most important part I learned was to be patient and keep my motivation alive. Remember that your body is doing awesome things during this plateau....for one, you are losing inches, you have more energy, you feel great....these things cannot be felt on the scale.

I did find that measuring my portions is what made me finally break my plateau. I didn't think it made much of a difference, one heaping tablespoon of peanut butter as compared to one regular tablespoon in a measuring spoon. It makes a big difference, 40 calorie difference and because I had eaten PB through out my weight loss and never measured, I didn't think that's what it could have been, not to mention the other foods I wasn't measuring.

I was losing weight before with my heaping PB....but now that I am smaller, it is important to measure, measure, measure.Take a look at your nutrition tracker and try and cut bread and pastas just for a week, my carb intake was really high and making this small change helped....just for a week though and then go back to half the intake.

As for my exercise, I couldn't push much more, I was literally doing 3 hours of cardio per day. So I cut back and started walking a couple of hours a day. This helped as well, although it was hard to drop my entire routine for walking but my body was used to the cardio I was doing so I had to change!

Hope this helps! The good news is that when I broke the plateau, the weight I had gained 6-9 pounds flew off quickly, in like 2 weeks...now I am back on track!

Jennifer

Trials are like FIRE; it can destroy or strengthen you, depending on your character and outlook in life. REMEMBER! The fire that melts butter, is the same fire that hardens steel.

Plateaus are quite frustrating, but take it from someone who was on a very long 9 month one myself, sometimes it takes lots of tweaking to figure out what changes need to be made to keep moving your forward. One of my favorite series here on SparkPeiople is the Plateau Busters series. I linked you to part one below, but please read parts 2 and 3. They all have lots of good info to help you see what changes, even small ones, that you can make to get your weight loss moving again. But remember too that you are healthier today than when you started so count that as a positive.

It sounds like you have tried the quick fixes - and they just plain don't work. What DOES work is you doing the hard yards. Sometimes people hit plateaus, and could be there for a few months or even a bit longer, but so long as you don't give in and give up - you will get there. Sometimes the closer we are to our goal the harder it is to lose the weight. Don't be discouraged by that - it is normal.

I had the same problem so I am thankful you posted about it and I would love to hear what people have to say. I am 25 pounds over my plateau and feel disgusted, as no program, diet, or healthy lifestyle seems to help. I'm desperate and half given up.

CHIPMUNKLOU
Posts:
6
1/21/13 8:03 P

I need motivation or answers or something. The lowest my weight was in years was 175 lbs. and that was over a year ago. ever since that it has bounced between 180-185 lbs. I have tried diets, exercise, prescription pills, over the counter pills/concoctions. Nothing seems to make a difference. I am currently not exercising and therefore have gained a few more pounds....I am sooo discouraged, If I ever expect to be in better health I need to lose weight. Any comments would be welcome.. Thanks

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